One of the must-have equipment for wildlife photography in general, and bird photography in particular, is to have a telephoto lens powerful enough to capture subjects with sufficient details and sharpness, without having to come too close to them. Since most of us can’t afford super telephoto lenses, also called second-mortgage lenses, some of us resort to using an extender, which is much less expensive, to increase the reach of our lenses. With a 1.4 extender, a 400 mm lens will be equivalent to a 560 mm lens.

I have had such an extender for two years, but almost never used it because the results had been disappointing especially in terms of sharpness. Finally, looking at photos posted by Jerry from Quiet Solo Pursuits here on WordPress, I decided to give it a try with the Canon 5D Mark IV that I have been using since last year.

Following are some of the shots I took yesterday at the refuge and at Colonial Lake under a bright sun with the 100-400 mm lens and a 1.4 extender.

A lot of older folk here in Japan have impressive telephoto lenses and it always makes me think how long they have been saving up for them! I’ve been waiting till I have a good lens before I do things like a safari, but maybe I should try an extender – thanks for the idea! Happy holidays, Hien!

“Second mortgage lenses” – a wonderful expression 😀
Your photos with the extender are beautiful. I too, have yet to use an extender, but we’ll see how things go in 2019. Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday week 🙂

Excellent images! The best part is that the more that you use the extender, the better you’ll get while using it. You may lose a little in auto-focus speed, but the longer focal length often makes up for it. I don’t know if you rely on servo AF or use back button focus, but another trick that I’ve learned is to allow the camera to refocus between shots so that it refines the focus to the best that it can be.

Well, I hope you’re not disappointed any more! They look great. I’m glad you gave it another try, and I look forward to more beautiful wildlife photography from you – much more! :0)( Happy Holidays, Hien!

WOWOWOWOWOW, Hien! You have the exact camera I want (and will get!) and the extender as well. The extender, believe it or not does not work with my Canon 6D. You have no idea how many people I spoke to because it should have worked, my camera taking only EF lenses. Anyways ….. NOW I am going to be much more enthusiastic getting your camera and the 14. extender. Thank you so much for the proof I needed, your glorious pictures, to set the deal for me! This equipment is NOT cheap as you well know.